In April 2011, CNBC listed the then-Ochocinco as No. 1 on its list of "Most Influential Athletes In Social Media."[4] Johnson is a six-time NFL Pro Bowler, was named to four All-Pro teams, and was voted as the number one wide receiver on the Bengals 40th Anniversary team.[5]

In Johnson's rookie year, he saw moderate playing time, catching 28 passes for 329 yards and one touchdown. In 2003, he set a Bengals franchise record by recording 1,355 receiving yards. In 2004, he caught 95 passes for 9 touchdowns and 1,274 yards, including 117 receiving yards in a 58-48 win against the Cleveland Browns. He later surpassed the record in 2005, recording 1,432 yards. He led the AFC in receiving yards for four consecutive seasons, and he made the Pro Bowl five straight times from 2003 to 2007.[8]

During the 2005 NFL season, Johnson announced that he would keep a checklist, titled who Covered 85 in '05, that would evaluate the defensive backs that successfully managed to cover him. On November 2, 2005, Marvin Lewis, the Bengals head coach, replaced Johnson's list with another one titled, Did 85 do everything he could to lead his team to victory 11-6-05. The list, an obvious parody of the original, asked several questions regarding Johnson’s performance both on and off the field. According to the Bengals' official website, the list was aimed to antagonize the Baltimore Ravens, whom the Bengals would play in four days. Johnson was not pleased with the new list, as he had developed a superstitious faith in the older list. He had a stellar performance during the game, prompting the return of the original list.[9]

In 2007, Degree and Yahoo! created an online version of his checklist. The checklist allowed fans to vote for which NFL quarterback Johnson would like to play catch with the most. Every vote helped him raise money for his charity project,"Feed the Children".[10]

On April 20, 2006, Johnson signed an extension to his contract through 2011.[11]

During the first half of the 2006 season, Johnson saw little activity. After being bogged down by an early injury, his productivity endured a sharp decline. During the first eight weeks of the 2006 season, he only caught two touchdown passes, while only amassing 483 yards. However, after shaving his Mohawk and changing his mentality, he had a breakout game in a losing effort against the San Diego Chargers. Johnson accumulated 260 receiving yards and scored two touchdowns, which broke the previous Bengals record for most receiving yards in a game.[12] He went on to amass 190 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns in a 31-16 win over the New Orleans Saints in the following week. This gave him an NFL record of 450 receiving yards in back-to-back games, breaking the previous record of 448 set by San Francisco 49ers receiver John Taylor in 1989. In the following week, he gained 123 yards receiving, breaking the three-game receiving record since the NFL–AFL merger in 1970 and coming within 40 yards of the all-time record.

Johnson finished the 2006 season with 87 receptions for a league leading 1,369 yards and 7 touchdowns. He was the first Bengal ever to lead the NFL in receiving yards. He and Houshmandzadeh also became the first Bengals teammates to each amass over 1,000 receiving yards in the same season.

In addition to being one of the most productive receivers in the NFL, Johnson was also one of the most popular ones. In the fan voting for the 2006 Pro Bowl, he finished first in votes for wide receivers, and fourth overall with 987,650 total votes.[13] He has earned nationwide attention for his flamboyant attitude, which is often seen during his infamous end zonecelebrations after catching touchdown passes. In a list released in August 2006 by Fox Sports listing the top 10 showboats in professional sports, Johnson topped the list.[14]

In the first game of the season, on Monday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens, Johnson scored the game's first touchdown on a 39-yard pass from Carson Palmer. Following the touchdown, he grabbed a jacket that resembles the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees' jacket that said, "Future H.o.F 20??". Johnson finished the game with 5 receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown. In the next game against the Cleveland Browns, he racked up 209 yards on 11 catches for two touchdowns in the 51-45 loss. This gave him a career total of 7,229 receiving yards, breaking the Bengals franchise record previously held by Isaac Curtis. The very next game against the Seattle Seahawks, he totaled nine receptions for 138 yards as the Bengals lost again. Against the New York Jets, in which the Bengals won 38-31, he had 3 receptions for 102 yards and a rush for 15 yards.

In the fourth quarter of the Bengals week-nine loss to the Buffalo Bills, Johnson was rolled off the field on a stretcher, with a reported head injury. He dove out for a pass, with under a minute left in the 33-21 loss, and then was sandwiched by Donte Whitner and Coy Wire. He was reported to be moving at the hospital.[15] He finished the game with three catches for 48 yards. A CT scan performed to detect nerve damage came back negative, and he did not miss any games from the injury.

Over his next two games, Johnson did not score any touchdowns or gain more than 86 yards. But he had a breakout performance in a November 25 win over the Tennessee Titans, catching a career high 12 passes for 103 yards and 3 touchdowns. This gave him over 1,000 receiving yards for the sixth consecutive season. He also surpassed Carl Pickens as the Bengals all-time leader in receptions.

By week 15, Johnson and Houshmandzadeh both gained over 1,000 receiving yards for the second year in a row. However, a loss to the San Francisco 49ers that week ensured the team would finish the year with their first losing season since 2002. Johnson finished the season with 4 catches for 131 yards and 2 touchdowns in a win over the Miami Dolphins, giving him 93 receptions for 1,440 yards and 8 touchdowns on the season.

His 1,440 yards set a new Bengals franchise record, breaking his own record of 1,432 in 2005. It was the third time that he finished a season with a new Bengals record for receiving yards. His yardage was third most in the NFL, his receptions were 12th most, and his touchdowns were tied for 15th most in the league.

Johnson was passed up for the 2008 Pro Bowl team, which instead selected his teammate T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Due to injury, however, Patriots' receiver Randy Moss was forced to withdraw from the Pro Bowl, and Johnson was selected as his replacement. The selection marked his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl selection. Johnson and Houshmandzadeh became the first pair of Bengals receivers to make the Pro Bowl in the same year.[16]

On January 13, 2008, Johnson was a guest on ESPN's Mike & Mike radio show. During the interview, he addressed how the media and team treated him during the 2007 season, saying, "I was labeled selfish and a cancer, and it hurt...Fingers were pointed at me this year. If the team and the organization wants to further itself (make the playoffs), I think you need to get rid of the problem...It hurt me. To do me that way and not to have my back. Things were said, and nobody came to my defense." However, head coach Marvin Lewis commented on the issue by saying that the Bengals will not be trading Johnson. "He is a Cincinnati Bengal for quite a while," Lewis said.[17]

On February 4, Johnson's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, stated that Johnson would not sit out the 2008 season and would play, but would not say whether it would still be with Cincinnati or not. ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that Johnson felt betrayed by Marvin Lewis and was privately threatening to sit out the 2008 season.[18]

On February 14, 2008, Marvin Lewis announced that the Bengals never discussed trading Johnson and would not unless the right deal was there. Reports at the time stated that Johnson had been looking for a deal with the Washington Redskins. Lewis also stated that he had not spoken to Johnson since the last regular season game; yet when asked about the trade rumors, Chad said "Call me, Dan," referring to Redskins' owner Daniel Snyder.[19] On April 22, the Cincinnati Bengals' declined a Washington Redskins' trade for Johnson involving a first round 2008 NFL Draft selection and a 2009 NFL Draft selection.[20]

On NFL Network's NFL Total Access, Johnson said he did not want a pay raise from the Bengals, but rather a "change of scenery".[21] Johnson then refused to speak to reporters and missed the offseason workout programs and practices.[22] On April 16, Johnson announced he wanted to be traded before the 2008 NFL Draft or as soon as possible afterwards. Johnson also said he would not attend any Bengals' functions, mandatory or voluntary, despite what quarterback Carson Palmer said about Johnson reporting to the team's mini-camp.[23] The next day, April 17, teammate T.J. Houshmandzadeh told ESPN that it would be best for the Bengals to trade Johnson, saying that "I think eventually he'll show up, but then you have to worry about how much of a distraction he'll be."[24]

On June 3, nine days before the opening of the Bengals' mandatory minicamp on June 12, Johnson told ESPN The Magazine that he would be returning to the Bengals for the camp, saying "Am I coming back? Of course I am".[25] Johnson's agent Drew Rosenhaus, confirmed reports that Johnson would indeed show up to training camp and honor his contract.[26] On August 5, Johnson returned to practice after his ankle surgery on June 18.[27]

In the Bengals' August 17 preseason game against the Detroit Lions, Johnson suffered an injury to his left shoulder and did not return. Initial reports were that it was a mild separation, which was later echoed by Marvin Lewis: "We'll be able to treat it conservatively, and he'll have to get his strength back in it. It came out and went right back in on the field."[28] A later examination revealed that he had actually suffered a partial tear to the labrum. Despite his injury, he planned to play the entire season, stating that he had spoken with then Cleveland Browns' Kellen Winslow, Jr. and Donté Stallworth and the Philadelphia Eagles' Brian Westbrook, all of whom have played with a similar condition. Johnson stated that "I'm lifting my normal weight. I do everything normal now. Everything. It's been what? Eight days? I'm back to normal."[29]

On August 29, 2008, Johnson legally changed his name to Chad Ochocinco.

The Bengals began the season 0-8, with Carson Palmer out for the season with an injury early in the campaign and Ochocinco experiencing his worst statistical season in his career. Ochocinco totaled 11 receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown in the first four games of the season, unable to gain more than 37 yards receiving in any of the contests. Following a 3 reception for 43 yard performance against the Dallas Cowboys in a loss, Ochocinco had consecutive games with 50-yard receiving totals (57 against the New York Giants & 52 against the Pittsburgh Steelers). Ochocinco then had 44 yards off of 5 receptions in a loss to the Houston Texans.

However, the Bengals won their first game of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars in week 9 by a score of 21-19. In that game, Ochocinco had 5 receptions for 37 yards and two touchdowns. The two scores marked the first multi-touchdown game of the season for Ochocinco .

Ochocinco finished the season with 53 catches for 540 yards and 4 touchdowns - his worst statistical season since his rookie campaign.

Before the start of the 2009 season, the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants expressed interest in Ochocinco if he were to be placed on the market after he missed voluntary team offseason workouts.[30] In July 2009, Ochocinco said that he would use Twitter during games, but the NFL banned it.[31] In the August 20 preseason game vs the New England Patriots, Ochocinco took over placekicking duties for the injured Shayne Graham. He kicked off and made an extra point in the game, which ended up clinching the Bengals' 7-6 win.

During the season, Ochocinco expressed remorse for the developments in the 2008 season and attempted to make it up to the fans in Cincinnati through numerous actions. Many of those involved public appearances (usually involving the publication of his autobiography) and also by inviting Bengals fans to dinner and movie showings through his Twitter account, gatherings for which he picked up the tab. Many of the events were featured on the Bengals' official website.

Ochocinco went on to record his 7th career 1,000 yard season, catching 72 passes for 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns. He finished the season just 48 yards short of the 10,000 career receiving yards milestone and with 62 career touchdown catches, just one short of the franchise record held by Carl Pickens.

On January 15, Ochocinco was announced as a Pro Bowl selection to replace Patriots receiver Wes Welker, who was injured in the final week of the regular season. It was Ochocinco's 6th pro bowl selection, tying Lemar Parrish for the second highest total in franchise history.

Ochocinco opened up the season with 12 receptions for 159 yards and a touchdown in the Bengals opening day loss to the New England Patriots. In doing so, he tied the franchise record for touchdown catches (which he later surpassed) and became the 6th player in NFL history to amass 10,000 receiving yards with one team. The following week he became the 30th player in NFL history to surpass 700 career receptions, catching four passes for 44 yards in a 15-10 win.

Ochocinco practicing with the Patriots shortly after being traded to them.

On July 28, 2011, the New England Patriots of the National Football League acquired Ochocinco in a trade with Cincinnati after he restructured a three-year contract for $6.35 million. The Patriots traded two draft picks, a 5th round pick in 2012, and a 6th round pick in 2013.[32]

Ochocinco had what was statistically the least productive season of his career, catching 15 passes for 276 yards and 1 touchdown. He was inactive for the AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens after reportedly attending his father's funeral.[33] Ochocinco played in his first Super Bowl, catching 1 pass for 21 yards. The Patriots lost to the New York Giants 21-17.

On August 12, the Dolphins released Johnson following his arrest the previous night.[37] The meeting in which head coach Joe Philbin notified Johnson of his release was shown in the episode of HBO'sHard Knocks that originally aired on August 14.[38]

Johnson signed a two-year deal with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League on April 17, 2014.[39] During the 2014 CFL season, Johnson appeared in 5 of the 18 regular season games, mostly due to nagging injuries and he missed two playoff games to address a personal family matter in Florida. In four of the games, Johnson accumulated seven receptions for 151 yards and scored one touchdown.

On March 1, 2010, it was announced that Johnson would be a contestant on Dancing with the Stars for the tenth season. He was paired with two-time champion Cheryl Burke. The season premiere was on Monday, March 22, 2010.[41] He was eliminated from the show as one of the final four competitors on May 18, 2010, after receiving the lowest judges' score and number of votes. He was the 100th contestant to be eliminated.[42]

During the 2010-2011 NFL season, he and teammate Terrell Owens teamed up for a talk show, The T. Ocho Show on Versus, talking football, basketball and pop culture. The show was cancelled in 2011 as a result of Comcast's plans to re-launch Versus as an NBC Sports-branded service, as its new staff did not feel that the show would fit with the network's new goals.[44]

Due to the 2011 NFL Lockout, on March 16, 2011, Ochocinco announced he would have a four-day trial for Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. Ochocinco was a star soccer player in his youth and has stated he is an avid fan of the sport. His trial began on March 23, 2011.[47] On March 25, he was asked to play in a reserve game. On March 29, he was not offered a contract by the team but was offered the chance to train with the reserve side to stay in shape.[48]

In May, Ochocinco announced via his Twitter account that he would attempt to participate in a PBR event in Duluth, Georgia.[49] He rode the bull Deja Blue,[50] which weighs 1,500 pounds, and lasted 1.5 seconds during the intermission of May 14, 2011’s Professional Bull Riders event.

In June 2011, Ochocinco filmed a cameo role as himself for the film American Reunion.[51][52] Ochocinco also appeared as a former captain of the BMS Goats on the Season 3 premiere of the television show Blue Mountain State and as himself on the Season 2 premiere of the television show The League.[53] He was also featured in the hit series The Game as himself.

On May 5, 2007, Johnson was sued for allegedly not giving away a Lexus that was supposed to be raffled off. The suit added two plaintiffs who claimed that they had won trips from Johnson (one to Europe, the other to Hawaii), that Johnson never awarded.[58]

On October 25, 2006, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Johnson, whose jersey number was "85", announced that he would prefer to be called "Ocho Cinco," which is "eight five" in Spanish ("Eighty-five" would be "ochenta y cinco").[63] During warm-ups for the October 29, 2006 game against the Atlanta Falcons, the back of his jersey read "Ocho Cinco" instead of "C. Johnson". Quarterback Carson Palmer ripped the label off the jersey to reveal the usual "C. Johnson".[64] According to ESPN, Johnson was fined $5,000 for the stunt despite the fact that he did not wear the "Ocho Cinco" name tag during the game.[65]

Johnson legally changed his name to Chad Javon Ochocinco on August 29, 2008.[66] The Cincinnati Bengals decided to allow him to have it on the back of his jersey,[67] though Ochocinco continued to wear his old "C. Johnson" jersey during the 2008 football season,[68] because of contractual obligations with Reebok. He played with "Ochocinco" on the back of his jersey from the 2009 season to the 2011 season.[69] He wanted it to read "Ocho Cinco" but the NFL will only allow his legal name as spelled on his name change paperwork.[70]

Ochocinco announced on his live USTREAM broadcast in 2009 that he would be legally changing his last name to “Hachi Go” in 2010. He also held up a Customized Cincinnati Bengals Jersey with the last name "Hachi Go" on the back. Just as the words Ocho Cinco translate to 8 and 5 in Spanish, the words Hachi Go (八五) translate to 8 and 5 in Japanese.[71] However, he did not go through with the name change.

On January 25, 2011, Ochocinco told an ESPN reporter that he would be changing his last name back to Johnson.[72] However, on June 30, 2011, Ochocinco told an ESPN reporter that because of financial issues, he would keep his name as Chad Ochocinco and not go back to Johnson.[73]

On July 23, 2012, after Ochocinco's move to the Miami Dolphins, he legally changed his name back to Chad Johnson at a Broward County courthouse because he "wanted to reconnect with his former self".[74]

Johnson and Lozada married on July 4, 2012. The day before the wedding, a fan reached out to Johnson on Twitter for prayers after losing her husband the previous month. Johnson, in return, invited her to an all-expenses-paid trip to the wedding.[76]

On August 11, 2012, Johnson was arrested on a charge of domestic battery according to the Davie, Florida police.[77][78] Johnson allegedly headbutted his wife following an argument. Johnson was released the following afternoon on $2,500 bond.[79] Later that day, he was released by the Miami Dolphins.[80][81]

On August 14, 2012, Lozada filed for divorce claiming that her marriage was “irretrievably broken.”[82] The divorce was finalized on September 19, 2012.[83]

On September 21, 2012, Johnson entered a plea of no contest to misdemeanor domestic battery, avoiding jail time in an agreement with prosecutors and Lozada.[84] Johnson received a year of probation.[85]

On May 7, 2013, a warrant was issued for Johnson's arrest for allegedly violating the terms of his probation.[86] According to the Broward County Sheriff's Office, Johnson failed to meet with probation specialists on February 15 and March 15, and failed to show proof of enrollment and completion of a batterers intervention program. On May 20, Johnson turned himself in and was released later in the day after posting a $1,000 bond.[87]

On June 10, 2013, Johnson was sentenced to thirty days in jail for violating his probation.[88] Although a plea deal that called for no jail time was reached, Judge Kathleen McHugh rejected it after Johnson playfully slapped his male attorney on the buttocks in court. The judge said that Johnson was not taking things seriously enough, even after he apologized. In addition to the jail sentence, his probation was extended for three months through December, and he was required to perform twenty-five hours of community service and to undergo two counseling sessions per week. On June 17, Johnson was released from jail after apologizing to the court.[89]